AAN Alliance Awards
Founders and S. Weir Mitchell Awards
Sponsored by the American Brain Foundation and endowed by the Alliance Founders and S. Weir Mitchell Permanent Endowment.
Deadline to Apply: October 30, 2013
Founders Award | Established 1994
This award is designed to encourage clinical and translational research in neuroscience by physicians in clinical neurology training programs.
The AAN considers originality, scientific merit, neurological interest, and clarity of expression as criteria for review.
2013 Recipient: Korak Sarkar, MD, Los Angeles, CA
Selection Statement
“Dr. Sarkar’s work highlights the structural differences between children and adults on CT scans after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Although
the mechanism underlying these differences is not clear, the results suggest that the unique characteristics of pediatric TBI warrant
consideration when designing clinical trial design, or predicting functional outcome using prognostic models developed from adult TBI data.”
Award History
2012 Amer Ghavanini, MD, PhD
2011 Peter Turkeltaub, MD, PhD
2010 Farrah Mateen, MD 2009 Kazuma Nakagawa, MD
2008 Richard Swartz, MD, PhD
2007 Jan Claassen, MD, PhD
2006 Michael Waters, MD, PhD
2005 Orhun Kantarci, MD
2004 David Williams, MBBS
www.aan.com/view/founders
S. Weir Mitchell Award | Established 1955
This award is designed to encourage basic research in neuroscience by physicians in clinical neurology training programs.
The AAN considers originality, scientific merit, neurological interest, and clarity of expression as criteria for review.
2013 Recipient: Christopher Janson, MD, St. Paul, MN
Selection Statement
“Dr. Janson’s paper, Endovascular gene therapy with AAV5-IDUA for Hurler’s disease, studied whether brain targeted gene therapy
using virally delivered alpha-L-iduronidase in a transgenic mouse model of mucopolysaccharidosis type I would alter the pathology of
the disease. He found that such intracerebral ventricular delivery of AAV5-IDUA coadministered with mannitol resulted in high levels of
IDUA expression in the brain, achieving IDUA enzyme activity levels twice that of even normal mice. Additionally, glycosaminoglycans
were significantly decreased in brain tissue, and GM3 immunohistochemistry showed complete reversal of neuronal inclusions in areas
of IDUA expression. The results show that intraventricular or intravascular administration of virally delivered enzyme replacement
therapy represents a potentially viable therapeutic strategy in mucopolysaccharidosis type I.”
Award History
2012 Nandakumar Narayanan, MD, PhD
2011 Dong Wang, MD
2010 Peter Todd, MD, PhD
2009 Sashank Prasad, MD
2008 Thomas Lloyd, MD, PhD
2007 Robert H. Baloh, MD, PhD
2006 Shyamal Meta, MD, PhD
2005 Jeffrey Rumbaugh, MD, PhD
2004 Yaping Liao, MD
www.aan.com/view/mitchell
Continued >>
Presentation
AAN Alliance Award recipients are expected to give a 10-minute presentation based on the selected manuscript during a scientific session
at the 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, PA.
Recipient Will Receive
–– Certificate of recognition and $1,000 prize (Founders Award)
–– Medallion and $1,000 prize (S. Weir Mitchell Award)
–– Complimentary registration for the 66th Annual Meeting
–– Reimbursement for the 66th Annual Meeting travel and housing
–– $100 per day for expenses (up to two days)
–– Recognition during the 2014 Awards Luncheon at the 66th Annual Meeting
Eligibility
–– Applicants should be members of the AAN in good standing and be less than 18 months from the completion of their residency training
(at the time of submission)
–– Must be a senior author of a research-based manuscript
–– Manuscript must not be previously published or submitted for publication (at the time of submission)
Application Procedure
Applicants can apply for only one of the Alliance Awards. Manuscripts may be considered for the other award as deemed appropriate.
Applicants should submit one complete set of the following:
1. Completed application form
2. Current curriculum vitae
3. Typed, double-spaced copy of the complete manuscript, including names and addresses of all authors (supplemental materials may be submitted);
manuscripts and bibliographies must be in the format used in the Neurology ® journal
4. Letter from the training program director attesting to the applicant’s enrollment and status in the program
5. Letter from the faculty researcher sponsor detailing the extent of collaboration and support received by the applicant while conducting
this research and verifying all work was completed during applicant’s residency or fellowship period
6. On a separate piece of paper, include a list of residency and/or fellowship start dates, end dates, and program directors
7. Letter from research mentor verifying all work submitted was completed during the residency or fellowship training
Connecting All of Neurology
Philadelphia, PA • April 26 – May 3, 2014